Like many of us, Lisa Li never had (and still doesn't have) a "grand plan" for her life—or her career trajectory. She wasn't interested in one thing specifically—but many things, and how those were connected. Even now, in her role at POLITICO as a Product Analyst, she still says she doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up. Her fearlessness for new experiences, combined with a dedication to hard work and eagerness to learn—and keep learning, has landed her roles at top companies like Google (as an undergrad!), Deloitte, and now, at POLITICO.

Lisa has a wild obsession with eggs, a profound love for news, and an insatiable taste for knowledge that pushes her to grow in the pursuit of new experiences. She doesn't know where she's going—but she doesn't have to. Here she is:

I was all-over-the-place in college and changed my mind about careers every other week! At Emory, International Studies is actually a very broad major that allowed me to explore interests in politics, international relations, economics, history, language—you name it. I sometimes worried that I wouldn’t figure it out and needed to focus more. I admired my friends who had such clear visions of their academic and professional paths.

I truly enjoyed learning from an array of disciplines and constantly engaging in different types of thinking. I turned to consulting as a first job partly because I wanted to continue on with that variety of topics in my career, and entry-level consulting programs are designed to allow you to experience multiple industries and types of problem-solving. It’s a good place to start if you’re still not sure what you really “want to be when you grow up” (and I’m still figuring that out!). Some people end up loving it and staying in consulting, but many (myself included) learn a lot from the experience and move onto something else.

On Interning at Google

I’d seen a posting and thought it sounded cool, and a good way to get some professional experience and explore a new city (San Francisco)—why not? Interning at Google was awesome, and I loved having a group of interns from around the country to explore SF and Google with. Overall, I took two things from my internships: First, just the experience of being at an inspiring, innovative company with a great, collaborative culture. Google, of course, isn’t perfect, but it really does emphasize culture and its people, and you can see how that fuels innovation and connects everyone to its purpose. As much as Google is known for its perks, it's really the culture that makes a workplace.

Great culture is something I’ve sought out since then, and have definitely found at POLITICO. Supportive leadership is another thing I’ve sought out and see and experience every day at POLITICO. Our leaders here are really invested in making sure everyone here is learning, challenging themselves, and set up for success.

On Her First Post-College Job at Deloitte as a Business Analyst

I was very, very lucky to have the summer to myself after I graduated, and I traveled and backpacked around Kenya, South Africa, and Europe, which was an incredible experience—a much-needed break after college. But after my travels, I was ready to be productive and get to work! Deloitte is a big company and can be hard to navigate. Small logistics like filing expense reports stumped me at first, and bigger tasks like getting myself staffed on a project or writing up a performance evaluation were even more daunting. Fortunately, I had the support of other analysts and older consultants who’d already done it all. They formed a strong support system, and they were always the best resource.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek out help when you need it! I’ve found wonderful colleagues and mentors at POLITICO as well, and they’re the first I turn to for questions on how to handle an email (to cc or not to cc?) or even thinking about where I want to go with my career.

On Her Transition to POLITICO

I liked a lot of things about consulting—the problem-solving, working in teams, and experiencing different challenges each day. However, I started to crave more control of and personal connection to the work I was doing, as opposed to working for a random client for a while and then leaving to go to another client. I wasn’t certain what “personal connection” meant really, but I remember looking at my web browser full of tabs of news stories and other articles I wanted to read, and thought, "Maybe I should give media a try."

For me, taking a break from studying or work has always been reading an article from my ever-growing reading list, and I’m that friend who’s always sharing and recommending articles with people. I saw the posting for an analyst role at POLITICO on LinkedIn, and it seemed like a perfect fit. I wanted to be in a role where I would still be solving different types of problems and engaging in a variety of thinking, but also doing that for a company I felt personally invested in and passionate about—the news spoke to me!

On What The Product Team Does

The product team collaborates with key stakeholders to define the vision and strategy for our products—I do a lot of the analysis that goes behind that. Partnering with the rest of the team, I evaluate new product, market, and partnership opportunities through user interviews, market and competitive research, and financial analysis, and I check in on the health of our current products as well. Our team makes recommendations on potential opportunities to business and editorial stakeholders. (For us, a “product” is any distinct package that delivers our content to users—so anything from our politico.com homepage to a newsletter, and “markets” range from geographic markets to new areas of coverage to new types of customers we want to reach.)

On Her Role as Product Analyst

Every day is different! At any time, I’m looking at a few different options for new products, markets, and partnerships, and they’re all at different stages. I could be doing interviews with customers to get their perspective on an idea for a new product, maybe I’m picking the brain of a reporter who’s an expert in a new coverage area we’re considering to get their view on editorial needs and options. Maybe I'm learning all that I can about the competitive landscape of a geographic market we’re considering.

If we want to get a sense of what the finances and numbers are around a certain product or idea, I might be trying to figure out the size of the market or developing a business case model. Maybe we’re presenting recommendations to executives, so I’m putting together a summary of our research findings and working with the team to figure out the story we want to tell. With all of these activities, I’m never alone—I’m working with the rest of our incredible product team and leveraging the expertise of editorial and business stakeholders.

On Her Skills and Lessons Learned

I’ve developed new skills at each job and have brought them the next one, and I’m still working on them. One of my biggest challenges over the years has been developing my confidence at work and not being afraid to make my voice heard. In school, most of my classes just required me to study, write the paper, etc. But when I started working, I relied on help from other people so much more.

For example, on consulting engagements, you’re often getting data and information from clients, who may or may not be that enthused about you. On one of my first projects, I feared “bothering” them so much that I let things slip, and we didn’t get all the data we needed. My manager at the time told me I needed to get more comfortable with reaching out to others and with doing the “friendly bother”—not just on that project, but my career in general. You’ll never get anything done or help from anyone unless you ask (and sometimes ask and ask) first. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with reaching out to others since then, but I’m still working on it! We have a really collaborative culture at POLITICO, which makes it a lot easier.

On What POLITICO Means To Her

Working at POLITICO means supporting great journalism and helping our company grow so we can continue providing up-to-the-minute, in-depth coverage of Washington and the world over! Being here has made me appreciate the role the free press plays in defending our democracy and holding people in power to account. More broadly, it’s made me understand what a big role media and journalism play in all of our lives—we experience so much of the world beyond our own physical locations through the work of journalists around the country and around the world. We experience shared moments in history through reporting and analysis that help us make sense of what’s going on in the world and, when needed, compels us to action.